Healthy Baked Apples

okay, so I'm always looking for a good dessert that won't take out all my calories for the day! I have found that calorie counting is the most effective method of dieting for me. I keep a nice little white board on the fridge (from the $1 section at Target) and I write down every single calorie on the board as I eat it. So as I sat around craving sweets this afternoon I decided to make baked apples since I had only consumed about 350 calories so far. What prompted the baked apples idea? Well, I was reading Charlaine Harris...surprise surprise...and in her book From Dead to Worse the main character was baking apples, which just made me want some. So today I baked apples. To make the recipe 200 calories or under here is what I did:

1 apple
1tsp. white sugar
1tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp. heath bar pieces
dash of cinnamon

Core out middle of apple with paring knife, and scoop out the seeds with small spoon if needed. Do not cut all the way through your apple, you want to leave the bottom of the apple intact, just get the seeds and main core out. Once you have your apple mostly cored and all seeds removed pour both sugars into apple. Next, press heath bar pieces into center of apple and sprinkle the top with a bit of cinnamon.( I also added about a tsp of water on top of the heath bar pieces so it would not get dried out. ) Wrap apple tightly in foil and bake at 350^ for 35-40 minutes. Carefully remove apple from foil and let cool for a minute or two before digging in! Apple should be so soft it is falling apart, and save the juices from the foil to pour over your apple ...yum!

To make this recipe even less calories you can add only the brown sugar, or omit the heath bar pieces (1tbsp of heath pieces is 80 calories). You may also wish to stuff the apple with raisins or dried cranberries instead of heath bar pieces.

you know there is a problem when ...

So you know there is a serious problem when your 2001 honda accord is driving worse than your 1990 Pontiac Grand Am. So, I took the honda to the AAA car care center here in Durham. And, (not much to my surprise) there were several major issues. The first issue was that all of our brake rotors are warped, the second issue was that the transmission is apparently shot. AAA does not do transmission work, the only thing they will do is entirely replace the transmission. So, the lady at AAA is sending me over to a transmission shop with the hopes that we can fix the transmission instead of replacing it. The brake rotors, labor, an oil change, and the state inspection for the Honda came out to 490$ which I don't have a problem with. The bad part is the transmission. IF we have to replace the whole thing we are probably looking at well over $1200, probably more. Jake and I were so frustrated, but then we came to the conclusion that we shouldn't be. Why not, you ask? Because the car did not break down on the side of the road, we have been safe driving it with these problems for a couple of months, and we do have the money saved to get it fixed. In the midst of stress and worry we found something to be Thankful to God about. And, my wonderful husband was the one to point this out to me. I am blessed.
Although...I did have to go from driving thisTo this.....ohhh welll

A love/ hate relationship

If you're like me you love TrueBlood some of the time and hate it others. The books by Charlaine Harris are much better than the TV show, but its so nice to see it in person. Its just too much to resist! So, for all of you who wish TrueBlood was better, or who dont like it because it does not follow the books, I have compiled a list of You Tube videos so you can watch only the good parts of the series. Of course, these clips do not encompass all of the series as I didn't see the need to include everything. Some of the clips have some bad acting as well, but you get that with almost every tv show now and then. So, here we go:

p.s. I apologize for any language that may be used in these clips, it is hard to find clips that do not include bad language in True Blood, and the first few are especially bad. However, I have left out any scenes containing nudity.

An Abridged Version of HBO's True Blood, Season 1 (minus the bad scenes and most scenes that are not included in the novels by Charlaine Harris)

REMEMBER TO RIGHT CLICK AND OPEN A NEW TAB TO VIEW VIDEOS :)

Sookie meets Bill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W261uHRCFQs

Sookie Rescues Bill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxp4zjq5u3M&feature=related

Bill Rescues Sookie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNryOk1GrI0&feature=related

Sookie meets Eric
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOh7xsnuLq8

Sookie finds out about Sam
(there is a clip in the middle of this one with Jason, Sookies brother, that is not in the books)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3eUrOz-O70&feature=related

Sookie kisses Bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nOa07y6Xho

Sookie Kisses Sam
--no video found

Sookie Finds Gran dead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDkO72w3Sdc

Jason Hits sookie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg9ItPJlV7M

Sookie Helps Eric/Longshadow gets killed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lx44IBaA1Q&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka1IHbloy5Y&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJoaY7t7yoA&feature=related

Killer comes after sookie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pL8UEAfA_I&feature=related

Perfect Ending to Season 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4cT8X3uFXQ

...and a few extra ones for those who like these characters!
Sam:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHS0tt6VuM0&feature=related

Pam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvUJEdor2zw

Andy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUmKeYEjcwE

Merlottes Staff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz3zi8sweYA&feature=related

Good birthdays

This past week was my birthday :). While I don't feel any older, I did have a fun time celebrating with friends. One evening Maria, Amanda, and Jessie all came over for dinner and I made fettuccine Alfredo. Yummm. If you haven't ever made alfredo yourself it is something you must try! The stuff in the Jar doesnt hold a candle to the real thing!! Here is the recipe, try it out and make it your own, it is truly amazing!

1 1/2 stick butter
3/4 Cup half and half
3/4 Cup heavy Cream
Bow tie pasta (or any pasta you like)
1/4 Cup chopped onion
2 Garlic cloves minced
1 1/2 Cups shredded parmesan cheese

Put noodles on to boil
in large sauce pan lightly saute onions and garlic
(I also like to add sliced mushrooms at this point)
add butter and let melt all together over medium or med. low heat
Add half and half and heavy cream to pan
(You may add some Italian spices, or some pepper here depending on what you like)
Slowly mix in parmesan cheese. Mix well each time you add cheese so you won't get lumps of cheese in your sauce
Add Noodles to pan and toss well.
You can then add cooked chicken, shrimp, or bacon if you want to!
Also, pay attention as you are adding the cheese. You may not need a whole cup and 1/2 and you may need more. Just keep tasting the sauce as you make it until it is the way you like it.

New years are for New beginnings.

This year is quite literally for new beginnings. Jake will be home sometime in the beginning of February. Can you believe we only spent barely 3 months together as a married couple before he left? Our dating relationship was also long distance and we figured out that 3 months is the longest we have ever been together, seeing each other every day. We have made it through four years of seeing each other off and on and I am so ready to have him home and to myself! Neither of us have jobs lined up yet, but we know that God will open doors as He always does if we just trust Him. Hopefully all the hard hours in school and hours applying for jobs will pay off eventually. So the new beginnings we have lined up for this year so far are :

Start our life together again as a married couple
Search for, and obtain new jobs to support ourselves
Find a new apartment or house to start our lives together again in
And, of course, I will start and finish a new school semester

Of course, as there is every year, I am sure there will be several surprises thrown in here and there, but anything has to be easier than this past year :)

No matter where you are

No matter where you are in the world, or what challenges you are facing, Christmas is a time to be celebrated. You may not have "christmas spirit" or feel like decorating or buying gifts, but thats not the point! The point is that Christ was born and this is the time of year we celebrate His birth. Its not about Christmas trees, gifts, etc. It is about realizing what a great gift was given to us many years ago when Christ came to earth. It is a gift that transcends all the silliness we have added to Christmas. I personally am not happy to be spending a Christmas without my husband and without my own home to decorate, but I am thankful that he is safe, that I have a place to live and that I have a supportive family. I may not be super into the Christmas spirit but I do realize that my life would not be the same if it were not for that little baby born in Bethlehem so many years ago. So, whether you are a humbug or a true Jingle Bell lover, remember Christmas for what it is, a time to celebrate the birth of Christ!

why?

there are some things in this world i just don't understand...and this barbie is one of them